


Holidays with Family

by MariaJonsson



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-03-02 17:34:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2820503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaJonsson/pseuds/MariaJonsson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ned and Cat have been dating for almost two years, now it is time to meet the family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Christmas with the Starks

**Author's Note:**

> **Summary:** Ned brings Cat home to meet the Starks.  
>  **A/N:** Written for CatxNed Week on Tumblr. The prompt was Holiday.  
>  **Disclaimer:** I own nothing all characters belong to George R. R. Martin. This is just for fun.

Driving twenty hours to spend Christmas with Ned’s family was exactly what Catelyn needed right now. It would be strange not going home to Riverrun, but when she gripped onto Ned’s warm hand the homesickness faded into a warm memory.

Lysa was still furious with her, and Catelyn had no interest in spending Christmas with Petyr, not after his proclamation at the beginning of the semester.

”You alright?” Ned asked, raising their entwined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

”Yes, I’m fine. Nervous and excited all at the same time and my ass is killing me, other than that, I’m fine,” Catelyn said.

”Well, I did offer to fly North,” Ned argued.

”I know, but then we wouldn’t have a car to drive around up North, and we are already flying to the Riverlands next week so I don’t mind,” Catelyn said.

In truth, she enjoyed it. While driving from the Vale, all the way North to Winterfell, hadn’t been her first thought, she had loved the idea when Ned had suggested it. However, that was before her ass became numb from driving for six hours straight. On the bright side, she had spent those six hours with Ned, and Ned alone. It wasn’t often that she could say that happened since Robert Baratheon seemed to be under the delusion that they were sharing custody of Ned, and deserved equal time with him. Which of course was preposterous.

"There is an inn just a few meters up the road, we can stop there and stretch our legs before the last haul," Ned said, pointing to an advertisement sign for the inn.

”And have some coffee,” Catelyn said, rubbing her hands together.

”And have some coffee,” Ned agreed, taking hand again, trying to squeeze some heat into her frozen fingers.

The inn was just an above average sized house with maybe 5-7 rooms, and a small café and bar on the first floor. They only stayed for a half an hour so that they would be at Stark Mansion before dinnertime, and they still had three hours of driving left.

”Do you want to drive?” Ned asked as they walked back to the car, a warm cup of coffee held firmly in her hands.

”Are you tired?” she asked with concern, after all he had been driving since they left the Neck and Howland Reed that morning.

”No, just wondered if you might want to drive, don’t want to seem like I’m hogging the wheel,” he said, bending down to kiss her quickly.

Catelyn pulled him closer and kissed him again before releasing him, “No worries, if my control compulsion kicks in, I’ll let you know. Besides, I want to get there as soon as possible and you know the way.”

Ned didn’t reply, only kissed her again, taking her by surprise, after all they were in an open space area with people around, and he wasn’t much for PDA.

”Sorry about that,” he said when he pulled his hand from her hair. “Just filling the quota before we get to Winterfell.”

”So am I not going to be kissed when we get there, because if that’s the case, maybe I should have stayed behind,” she joked, poking him in the ribs.

”No worries babe, I’ll make it up to you,” he said in a serious voice and she couldn’t help laughing.

The next three hours passed by with relative ease, the snow was getting heavier as they drew nearer and Catelyn grew more nervous with each meter the car drove.

”Don’t worry, my mom will love you,” Ned said for the hundredth time.

”What about your dad?” she asked.

"My dad likes what and whom ever my mom likes," Ned answered with a grin before turning serious again, gripping her hand. "The only thing they care about is that I’m happy, and you make me very happy."

"You make me happy too, just so you know," she said, reaching over to press a kiss to his cheek.

————————————————————————————————

Winterfell was even bigger than she had anticipated, the whole house, if you could call it that, was covered with snow, the wolf statues by the gate were untouched, making Catelyn wondered if someone had to uncover them every few hours since it snowed so much here. There had been no more falling snow the last hour, much to Catelyn’s relieve, thankfully Ned’s car was well equipped to handle the heavy snow so Catelyn had not been worried.

Ned stopped right in front of the large mansion, and killed the engine, before turning towards her.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Are you?" she asked back with a nervous laugh.

"Never been more ready," he said, kissing her cheek before jumping out, opening the rear to take out their bags.

Catelyn had been dating Ned for almost two years, yet she had never met any of his family members and he hadn’t met any of hers. They were from different parts of Westeros, yet both had chosen to go to University in the Vale. Their first summer after they had started dating they had spent it apart. They had only just started dating, nevertheless she had spent most of her free time on her phone, either speaking with him or texting him, it had gotten so bad her father had taken away her phone for a whole weekend.

Last year they had decided they would spend Christmas with their respective families, but meet up at UV for New Years, only staying apart for about a week, and even that had felt like a lifetime.

Then finally last summer they had been dreading spending the summer apart, making plans to spend some of their time off, in the Riverlands and some up North, then they had both gotten internships in King’s Landing, and while Ned had hated the heat and the masses of people, they had enjoyed spending some time together, unfortunately also with Robert, who had gotten an internship with the same firm as Ned.

So now finally after even living together for 6 months, although her father didn’t quite know about that, they were taking each other home to meet their families.

Catelyn stepped out of the SUV and took a quick look around, the house was enormous, but there wasn’t much decoration, just a few Christmas lights and beautiful snow.

"I’ll help you," she offered, pulling one of her three bags from the trunk.

”I had no idea a person could own so many bags, much less clothes to put in them for a two week vacation,” Ned teased her, pulling his duffle bag out, the only bag that belonged to him.

”Hey, you like when I look nice, and I need all this stuff for that,” she said defensively.

”I like it better when you wear nothing,” Ned muttered under his breath, although she caught it anyway, punching him in the arm in retaliation.

”Sorry, babe,” he said, grabbing his bag and two of her larger ones, leaving her only with her carry-on bag.

The big red door opened just as they were getting into it, and a tall gray haired man stood in the doorway, taking Catelyn’s bags from Ned, placing them on the floor just inside, grabbing Ned in an awkward hug.

”Welcome home, son,” the older man said. “Your mother was worried about you driving north, now she can stop nagging me.”

”I do not nag you!” A female voice spoke out. “Do not tell our son such nonsense, Rickard!”

The woman wasn’t as tall as her husband, only slightly above average height, but the bouncing dark locks and her brilliant smile made her very appealing, even with the streaks of grey that were visible in her hair.

"Eddard, my sweetling, how are you?" she asked, pulling Ned into a long hug, before pulling back and scrutinizing him. "Have you not been eating?"

”Mom!” Ned actually wined, and Catelyn was sure she saw a tint of red on his ears.

Mrs Stark took no note of her son’s embarrassment, or she chose to ignore it and started touching his hair, “You also need a hair cut, is this some new fashion among boys? Your brothers are also sporting this long hair for boys fashion.”

Ned said nothing, but now Catelyn was certain he was blushing.

”Oh my,” Mrs Stark gasped. “Eddard, you didn’t tell me she was so beautiful.”

Catelyn looked from Ned into eerily familiar grey eyes, Ned’s eyes in another face.

”Hello, darling, I’m Lyarra Stark, Eddard’s mother,” the older woman said, and instead of extending a hand out, the woman pulled Catelyn into a tight hug, pulling slightly back to admire Catelyn’s hair, or so she guessed, for the woman had a similar look in her eyes that Ned did when he looked at her hair.

”Lyarra, let the girl go, you are probably frightening her,” Mr Stark said, but his wife just hushed him, making Catelyn smile.

”I’m Catelyn Tully, nice to meet you,” Catelyn replied, looking between the two Starks.

Ned had his mother’s eyes, in other regards he looked much like his father, down to the solemn facial expression and short trimmed beard.

”Mother, please,” Ned spoke finally, diverting Mrs Stark’s attention from Catelyn.

”Am I embarrassing you, Eddard? Your brother thinks I am, no doubt, he is waiting for inside by the way. Lyanna and Benjen went skating in the park, but Brandon is inside playing some video game, apparently it is more important than greeting one’s brother,” she huffed, and a cold hand grabbed around Catelyn’s heart as she remembered her own mother, and the tone she would take when daddy had allowed Edmure to play video games.

Mr Stark grabbed Catelyn’s bags and started moving into the mansion, Mrs Stark following behind, arguing about something with her husband. Ned was about to follow when he noticed her standing in the foyer, unmoving.

”You alright?” Ned asked. “I know they can be a bit overwhelming.”

”They’re great,” she replied, her heart catching in her throat as she tried to push down her feelings. This was her first Christmas away from home. Her mother had always insisted they spend Christmas at home, and even after she passed, they had kept the tradition alive. Only, now she wouldn’t be waking up on Christmas morning to watch Edmure tear into every present he got before he offered to help her with hers, while Lysa would carefully open each scotch tape so that she could keep the wrappers. Petyr would always. No! She didn’t want to think about Petyr.

”Hey, what’s wrong?” Ned asked, stroking her cheek, wiping away a tear that had fallen.

”It’s nothing,” Catelyn replied, angrily wiping away another tear.

”It clearly is something,” Ned countered, pulling her into a tight embrace.

”I’m just being silly,” she whispered into his chest. “And somewhat homesick.”

”Do you want to go home? We could still make it in time, I’m sure all the flights are booked up, but we could drive there, let me just go tell my parents and we can go,” Ned said, pressing a kiss into her hair.

”Don’t be silly, just hold me for a little bit and then take me to meet your brother, after all the stories, I have to admit I’m very curious,” Catelyn said, snuggling into his warmth.

They didn’t stay there for long, only long enough for Catelyn to pull herself together and rid herself of the heavy parka and winter boots.

The inside was as beautiful as the outside and the high ceiling made the entrance look palace like.

They walked into a room that seemed to be a sort of media room, and on the screen some medieval game played out, controlled by the young man sitting on the couch, screaming into his headset something offensive about someone’s mother.

”Just one more minute mom, Neddy can wait a couple of minutes,” the man said, not even turning around to face them.

”Hi, Brandon,” Ned said in a cold voice, undoubtedly not appreciating the nickname, although from what Catelyn knew of Brandon, this wasn’t unusual for their relationship.

”Ned!” Brandon exclaimed, throwing the computer controller onto the table and swinging his body across the back of the sofa, engulfing Ned in a bear hug.

The eldest Stark brother was taller than Ned, by almost a head, he was clean shaven, but had the same dark hair and the same colour of grey eyes, yet Brandon’s were easier to read, specially when his attentions turned from Ned to Catelyn.

”Well hello,” Brandon said, looking Catelyn over like a piece of meat. “No wonder little brother had been hiding you up in the mountains of the Vale.”

Brandon spoke with a grin that made Catelyn unsure if she should feel flattered or frightened.

"I always wanted a pretty sister," Brandon continued, engulfing Catelyn also in a bear hug.

"Brandon," Ned growled, and Brandon quickly let go.

”No worries bro, she’s your girl and I’m your brother, I would never,” he looked honest enough and Catelyn was grateful for that, and yet she moved closer to Ned slipping her hand into his.

”Sooooo, you guys wanna play?” Brandon offered. “Ben and Lya went out, they’ll be back before dinner.”

”Yeah, mom told us, and no thanks. We’ve been driving all day, and I still haven’t shown Catelyn around,” Ned said.

”Catelyn,” Brandon said, drawing out each letter in her name.

”Nice to meet you,” Catelyn replied.

”Welcome to the North,” he said before swinging back over the couch, his attention firmly on the game.

”Come on, I’ll show you around, we won’t eat until seven, so we have a couple of hours,” Ned said, escorting her from the room.

"Show me your room, I’m exhausted after driving here," Catelyn said, with a wink, having no intention of sleeping. "We have a week for you to show me your house.

Ned grinned, and pulled her along, up some stairs and down a corridor, until they reached an open door, her bags standing on the floor. Ned threw his bag next to hers, and Catelyn placed her carry-on next to her other bags.

His arms came around her waist, his chin resting her shoulder, turning his head to press a kiss to her cheek.

"Sorry about all the craziness," Ned said, tightening his arms around her.

"Let’s save all the apologies for later, after all, you haven’t met my family," Catelyn said.

”If they are anything like you, I’ll love them too,” Ned answered, turning her around in her arms.

Catelyn pushed up on her toes, winding her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss.

A fake cough coming from the doorway, cause them to leap apart. In the doorway stood Mr Stark, an amused look on his face.

”Your mother wanted to know if you’d need a guest room, but I see that won’t be necessary.” Before either of them could reply he closed the door behind him, leaving them alone.

They looked at each other and laughed. The earlier mood disrupted, Catelyn used the opportunity to look around. Much like his dorm room there were not many things here.

It was a decent sized room, not surprising with the size of the house. There was a walk-in-closet, probably half empty if Catelyn knew Ned. There were two bookcases filled to the brim with books, next to an old wooden desk, topped with a PC. Then there was a large bed flagged on either side by a nightstand, and an armchair in the corner. There were no other things in the room, not even a television. Not even a poster on the wall, only a large map of Westeros on one wall and a photo of his family next to the computer.

”I should have known,” Catelyn muttered to herself.

”I’m not a man for material things,” Ned said with a shrug.

He gripped the comforter off the bed, pulling the sides off it down.

"Already trying to get me into bed, Mr Stark," Catelyn said a suggestive voice.

"Absolutely, Miss Tully," Ned answered. "In truth, I’m beat, after two days of early rising and then driving all day, I’m pretty tired."

They had started early the day before. Ned had wanted to stop by to visit an old friend that lived at Grey Water’s Watch. Howland was a nice young man the same age as Ned, quiet and honest, nothing like Robert Baratheon. Catelyn secretly wished Ned would spend more time with guys like Howland instead of Robert, although deep down she knew Robert was harmless and Ned knew how to say no.

They napped for about an hour, and there was actual sleep involved. They were, however woken up when Ned’s sister came crashing into the room, throwing the door into the wall in her hurry.

"Ned!" The girl exclaimed.

Lyanna Stark was younger than Catelyn, with the same dark hair as her siblings, and her father’s blue grey eyes. Yet, hers were more laughing, like Brandon’s. Her hair was divided into two plaits that bounced when she threw herself into Ned’s arms, who had just had time to stand up before the girl threw herself onto the bed.

”Hey Lya, how are you?” Ned asked his sister after putting her down on her feet.

”I am well. Looking forward to having some time away from the parental unit, have you seen Brandon? I think he is getting depressed after his break up with Barbrey, only the Gods know why, that woman is horrid and Brandon’s slept with at least three of her friends, so it isn’t like he really cared for her,” Lyanna babbled, plummeting herself onto the mattress next to Catelyn. “Lyanna Stark, nice to meet you.”

Catelyn was so taken back by the girl’s manners that she couldn’t even reply before the girl kept on babbling.

”So am I going to drive your baby down to Howland’s?” she asked her brother.

”If you promise to take care of it,” Ned groaned, pulling a shirt over his bare chest.

”Did I interrupt something?” she asked, looking over Catelyn’s still fully clothed body.

”No!” Ned growled.

”No need to be testy brother. I’ll go, but you should come as well, dinner is ready,” she said, getting up and bouncing out the same way she came.

The atmosphere at dinner was so different from what she was used to at home, the Stark children, well Ned and Brandon weren’t kids anymore, and Lyanna was eighteen, attacked the food plates as if they had been starved for a week and neither Mr nor Mrs Stark paid it any attention.

They asked non-invasive questions, and Catelyn realized that Ned had clearly spoken to her parents about her, probably more than she had spoken of Ned to her own family, and she felt a bit guilty.

The next day Catelyn and the younger Starks had gone tree hunting in the Wolfswood, apparently there were still wolves roaming around here so Catelyn had tightly held onto Ned’s hand.

By the time Lyanna and Brandon had picked “the” tree, Catelyn’s feet were frozen and she could no longer move her face, not even Ned’s brief kisses could thaw her out.

The whole thing was worth it though, when they finally got the tree inside, after a thorough check for any life animals, and Mrs Stark brought them hot chocolate while the Stark men got the tree settled in the living room.

Still not having recovered any feelings in her toes, Catelyn opted to sit on the comfy sofa, watching the Starks put up their decorations. Ned had left most of it to his siblings, coming over to sit with her, sharing some of his body heat despite his sibling’s comments.

Benjen was by far the Stark sibling that resembled Ned the most. He was quiet, but not serious, quicker to smile than Ned, but not without reservations like Brandon and Lyanna. He was the youngest and far more eager to please than Ned, quicker to anger, but sweet. He and Catelyn got on quite well. He reminded her a bit of Edmure.

The North did Christmas a bit different than the South, celebrating on the 24th instead of the 25th, following the old way of new days starting in the evening and not after midnight, at least on this one day.

Catelyn had been surprised when Ned had spoken of it, now she simply looked forward to getting up late on Christmas morning, instead of at dawn with her brother.

”You alright?” Ned asked for the thousandth time. His eyes filled with worry.

”Yes! How many times are you going to ask?” Catelyn said in a harsher voice than she had intended.

”Sorry, love. I’m only worried,” he said, pressing a quick kiss to her hair while his siblings were busy arguing about the decorations.

”Nothing to worry about, I’m fine, just thinking,” she tried to assure him.

”Did your call home not go well?” Ned asked.

”It was fine, Edmure says hi and that he is looking forward to meeting you,” Catelyn said. There was no need to upset him over her awful phone call she had with Petyr.

”I know something is going on, but I’m going to let you keep your secrets for now,” Ned said, pressing a kiss before standing up to help his brothers lift Lyanna high enough for her to put the star on top of the tree.

The Stark Christmas traditions were very strict, everything had its time and place, leaving Catelyn baffled, although when she was seated down at the dining table, in between Ned and Mr. Stark, she felt it was all worth it.

There were said no prayers, only wishes of Merry Christmas as the clock struck six. The food was wonderful and for once Brandon and Lyanna were both calm, Lyanna busy speaking with Ben about her collage program and Brandon busy trying to look down her dress as well as listening to his mother speak of something Catelyn couldn’t hear.

Ned spoke not at all, yet seemed to be listening to his mother as well. So Catelyn turned to the Stark’s patriarch, the man like Ned was often solemn and quiet, mostly speaking only when spoken to or if he believed it a matter of great importance.

There was something wrong though, she couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something wrong. Like his children, Mr Stark seemed to have a great appetite for food and never missed a meal, though now he only shuffled his food around on his plate, occasionally looking up to share a forced smile with his wife.

Catelyn quickly forgot her worries as Mrs Stark called an end to the meal, making the Stark children groan.

”We are on clean up duty, no presents before the kitchen is clean,” Ned explained, when she looked at him for an explanation.

”That of course doesn’t apply to you sweetling,” Mrs Stark said, smiling at her.

”I don’t mind Mrs Stark,” Catelyn answered honestly, already standing alongside Ned.

”Please, Catelyn, you can call me Lyarra,” she answered, already leaving the table to go to the living room with her husband.

They were drying the last plate when they heard screams coming from the living room and all five of them sprinted into the living room only to find Mr Stark sitting on the couch clutching his left arm and Mrs Stark hysterical on the phone with somebody.

”They are coming,” Mrs Stark told her husband, taking a seat next to her husband. “Gods, you foolish man! What were you thinking!”

”Didn’t want to ruin the holidays for the kids,” he groaned, barely audible.

”What the hell is going on!” Brandon demanded finally, the rest of them just stood there quietly.

”Your idiot father is having a heart attack and has been for the last couple of hours, but to spare our feelings for the holidays, he decided not to tell anyone, thinking it would simply go away” she spoke calmly enough, even striking Mr Stark lightly, making him grunt.

"Mom!" Lyanna exclaimed when she struck him.

————————————————————————————————

The Starks and Catelyn spent the rest of Christmas Eve in the emergency room. The Starks had all refused to leave, even though the doctors had told them repeatedly that there was nothing they could do.

Brandon and Ben had gone to get coffee while Mrs Stark had taken Lyanna to fill out some paperwork. Catelyn sat next to Ned, just silently holding hands.

”If you want, I could drive you home, you could at least have some shut-eye,” Ned said solemnly.

”I want to stay here with you,” Catelyn answered, turning to her left, looking into Ned’s stormy grey eyes. “I need to stay.”

”Alright,” he said, pressing a kiss to her hair and squeezing her hand tighter. “Thank you.”

”I love you,” Catelyn answered. “There is no place I’d rather be.”

The night was long and sixteen hours later they all returned home, except Mr Stark, whom they were keeping under observation for at least a couple of days.

Ned practically had to carry Catelyn up the stairs, she was so tired after sitting in those hospital chairs all night, so even when they got to his bed, all she could think of was lying down and falling asleep.

Ned seemed to have other ideas and walked over to his closet, quickly returning with a silver box.

"I know we were supposed to open presents yesterday and that went totally haywire, but I wanted to give you this today, or this morning if things had gone as planned," Ned said, handing her the small silver box.

"Your gift is still under the tree," Catelyn explained, she had gotten him a new watch because his older one broke earlier this semester, and he kept saying he needed a new one, but in a very typical Ned manner refused to go buy himself a new one.

"Open it," Ned encouraged her, looking slightly nervous.

Catelyn carefully opened the package only to find another smaller box, and her heart started leaping in her chest. It was a ring box, she was sure of it.

"Ned," she whispered, looking from the box to him, biting her lip.

"Just open it, Cat," Ned encouraged.

When she opened it, it was a beautiful ring, platinum white with a medium sized diamond in the middle, a few smaller diamonds on either side. It was clearly expensive, but not too flashy.

"Oh, Ned." It was rare for her to be speechless, now she was.

"I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I know it isn’t ideal timing with my dad in the hospital, but I think last night just made me even surer," Ned said, coming to kneel in front of her, grasping her empty hand in his. "Catelyn Tully, will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?"

TBC


	2. Meeting the Tullys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned & Catelyn travel to the Riverlands to spend New Years Eve with her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW: Contains some adult content and bad language.
> 
> A/N: Finally I’ve finished the second part of my holiday fic. Sorry about the long wait and any mistakes, hopefully it is worth it :D

Ned tightened his arm around Catelyn, brushing a lock that had fallen into her face behind her ear.

 

The flight was two hours, and they had barely sat down before Catelyn had promptly fallen asleep, leaving Ned to watch some unfunny comedy show.

 

In her defence they had had a busy night, the night before, with the Stark Holiday Ball, which his parents had refused to postpone despite Father's heart attack. It was every year on the 27th come rain or shine, starting at five o'clock sharp. It was one of the many things Ned had been able to count on as a child.

 

To Ned's surprise Brandon had behaved well over the course of the week, never behaving inappropriately, safe for the occasional inappropriate look down Catelyn's shirt, or at her ass when she bent over. He even stopped some guy from harassing her at the Christmas party. Although Catelyn felt she was handling the situation quite well, before Brandon stepped in.

 

Ned stroked over Catelyn's bare finger, remembering his proposal on Christmas morning. He did not think he had ever been as happy as that day, although his enjoyment had been squashed a bit when Catelyn had asked him if they could wait to announce their engagement until after their trip to her childhood home.

 

Turns out Catelyn hadn't truly told her family what was going on, how serious their relationship was, the fact that they had been living together since last summer.

 

It had made Ned feel that their relationship wasn't as good as he had thought after all, why else would Catelyn not tell her family. Ned had told his parents about Catelyn a long time ago. He had thought maybe she was ashamed of their relationship, or perhaps him, after all she could do so much better, yet she had assured him that was not the case, that it had nothing to do with him. So he had no choice, but to believe her.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are prepared to land at Riverland's International in a few minutes, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position."

 

Ned pulled his seat up, trying not to disturbed Catelyn, but the flight attendance’s call had done so for him and she looked sleepily up at him.

 

"Sorry," she said as she sat up, adjusting herself in her seat, pulling down the armrest between them, lowering her feet to the floor. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. Did you rest at all?"

 

"No, but it is all right, I'm fine," Ned said, pushing his table back into place.

 

It wasn't long before they landed. However, the airport was so crowded that they had trouble getting through the crowds towards the bag collection.

 

Once they had gotten their bags, Catelyn lead the way to the reception area. Ned tried to scan the crowd for any of the people in Catelyn's multiple photographs of her family. Then suddenly Catelyn let out a squeal and sprinted forward, leaping into the arms of a middle aged man. A man, Ned recognized as Catelyn's uncle Brynden, her father's brother.

 

"Uncle Brynden, it is good to see you," Catelyn said, pressing a kiss to the man's bearded cheek.

 

Brynden Tully was a formidable man, with what Catelyn called the Tully red hair, and blue eyes, though when the same blue eyes moved from Catelyn to Ned, they clearly showed suspicion instead of the affection they had depicted when the man beheld Catelyn.

 

"Hello, little Cat. Welcome home," her uncle said as he put her back down on her feet.

 

"Merry Christmas uncle, hope it went well," Catelyn said, biting her lip.

 

Her uncle laughed, "Nothing we couldn't handle, do not worry so much. Now are you going to introduce me to this young man or is he only here to carry your luggage?"

 

"Oh, yes," Catelyn said, turning to Ned, her face a bit flushed. "Uncle, this Ned. Ned, this is my uncle Brynden."

 

"Nice to meet you, sir," Ned said, extending a hand out to the older man, remembering his father's word about handshakes and did not loosen his grip even when Mr Tully gripped his firmly.

 

"So you’re the Northerner my niece is so fond off," Mr Tully asked, sounding completely serious.

 

"Yes sir," Ned answered in the same manner and a hint of a smile appeared on the older man's lips.

 

"We should get going, your father is anxious to see you," Mr Tully said to Catelyn, taking both her bags and dragging them behind him on their wheels, letting Ned and Catelyn trail behind.

 

The drive to the Tully home was shorter than Ned had anticipated and he could feel Catelyn's nerves from where she was seated beside him, her hands were clammy and her teeth gnawing her lip.

 

She let out a soft sigh when her childhood home came into view, looking as picturesque as the photos she had shown him, now fitted with various Christmas lights, a light dust of snow covering the ground.

 

The car had not come to a complete stop before Catelyn was out of the car and into the arms of another older man with reddish hair.

 

This one was older, more grey had seeped into his red hair, but his eyes were the same brilliant blue as Catelyn's.

 

"Eddard Stark, I presume," Hoster Tully asked, looking quite friendly after his brother's welcome.

 

"Yes, sir. Nice to meet you," Ned said, extending a hand out to the older man.

 

"You as well, my daughter seemed intent on keep you from us," Mr Tully said, giving his daughter a funny look.

 

Catelyn's face lit up, a tint of pink in her cheeks and she averted her eyes away from them.

 

"Cat!" A voice shouted and in a flash of red Catelyn was being hugged by a skinny, yet surprisingly tall boy, whom Ned assumed was her twelve-year-old brother, Edmure.

 

"I missed you," the boy said as he let her go.

 

"Oh my, how you've grown, you're almost taller than me," Catelyn said. "I missed you as well."

 

"Lysa and Petyr are inside watching a movie," Edmure said. "I'm sure they'll come say hi."

 

Catelyn looked at her brother with sympathy and her word about his kind and optimistic nature came into Ned's mind, when he saw the clear doubt in her expression.

 

"I had Leila prepare your rooms, so you guys can take a breath after your flight," Mr Tully said.

 

"What do you mean by rooms?" Catelyn asked, stopping so suddenly Ned and Brynden Tully almost walked into her.

 

"You did not truly think I was going to let a young man stay in you room, Catelyn Tully?" her father asked, raising a brow.

 

Catelyn frowned at the use of her full name, "We had the same room at Ned's, what does it matter if we also share one here.

 

"It matters to me," her father answered, walking away, indicating the debate was over.

 

"It's alright Catelyn," Ned said, squeezing her hand.

 

"No it isn't," Catelyn growled, pulling her hand from his, running after her father, leaving Ned on the porch with her uncle.

 

Ned was unsure if he should follow, or if he should wait for her to come back, either way he hadn't decided when Brynden Tully came up to him carrying Catelyn's bags, telling him to follow.

 

The room he was shown had a beautiful view over the flowing river, a simple look with the scent of fresh sheets. He was about to unpack some of his things when the door was opened, then quickly slammed behind a person that looked vaguely familiar to his fiancé.

 

"I can't believe he is doing this, I'm twenty years old!" Catelyn screamed, her face completely red and her nails digging into her palms.

 

"He's your father, Catelyn. You can't blame him for wanting to protect you," Ned argued, feeling a sense of déja vu, although his previous encounter had been with a very angry brunette, who had been even younger than she was now.

 

"Yes I can!" Catelyn argued, crossing her arms in front of her and Ned immediately regretted his words. "Are you truly siding with him? We live together! What harm is it that we should share the same room!"

 

Ned tried to put his arm around her, but she moved away before he got close enough.

 

"Catelyn," he said in a calm voice.

 

"Don't Catelyn, me! I know I'm overreacting, but I don't need you to disagree with me," Catelyn said, sitting down on his bed, looking quite deflated.

 

"I'm sorry, love," Ned said, taking a seat beside her, putting his arm around her, burying his nose in her hair when she leaned into him. "You know I want to spend every moment with you, whether I'm awake or asleep. But I also want your father to like me."

 

"I understand, I'm not truly mad," Catelyn assented, lifting her head to press a kiss to his lips.

 

After Catelyn had calmed down, she took him to meet the rest of her family. Her sister, Lysa, was distant, yet pleasant enough. However, the boy was quite frankly unpleasant if not outwardly hostile towards Ned. Petyr Baelish had been taken in by the Tully family when his parents had been killed in a car crash, his father and Mr Tully had apparently been childhood friends and with no other family, Mr and Mrs Tully had taken him in, raising him as a brother to their children, although Ned could not say there was anything brotherly about Baelish's stares at Catelyn, nor Lysa Tully's dreamy expression when the girl looked at the boy.

 

They had a quiet family dinner, and Ned sensed some tension between Catelyn and the Baelish boy, thankfully Edmure's easy nature and quick humour hid it well. The boy seemed to like him well enough and although both the older Tully men were cautious, they were friendly enough.

 

Ned was about to fall asleep, alone in the guest room he had been given, when he heard voices outside his door.

 

"Please uncle, see reason!"

 

He recognized Catelyn's voice and quickly got out of bed and opened the door to see Catelyn in her pyjamas, speaking with her uncle, who had crossed arms and a smirk on his lips.

 

"Everything alright?" Ned asked, looking between the two of them.

 

"No," Catelyn said, not even turning towards him. "Uncle, please. What father doesn't know can't hurt him."

 

"What's going on?" Ned asked.

 

"Nothing," Catelyn answered, biting her lip as she looked at him.

 

"Everything's alright, Mr Stark, my niece just lost her way, after all she has been away for such a long time," Brynden Tully said, gripping Catelyn's arm gently. "Good night.

 

"Uhm, good night," Ned said in confusion. Catelyn mumbled a good night and then followed her uncle towards her room in the west wing.

 

The next morning Ned quickly got into the shower in the bathroom next his room, enjoying the feel of the freezing water over his hot and sweaty body.

 

The night had been awful; his room was over heated, despite the open windows, and his mind had seemed to think it was a good idea to conjure up images of Catelyn in various stages of undress, so that when he awoke his cock was rock hard.

 

The cold water had taken some of the ache away, but the images that were still flashing before his closed eyes were doing nothing to reduce the situation.

 

In Ned's defence it had been a week since they had last slept together, the longest period of time, since they had started to sleep together almost exactly a year ago.

 

For some reason they had not taken much advantage of sharing a bed at his childhood home, and besides the first night after they got there, they had only explored dreamland, and not each other. With his father's heart attack, his late nights with Brandon and Lyanna's insistence that she get at least one sleepover with her new sister, it had just never come up.

 

He was in the middle of his routine when he felt warm hands come around his torso and wet skin pressed against his back, which felt suspiciously like breasts.

 

"Oh my gods Ned, the water is freezing," Catelyn complained, reaching in front of him to add hot water.

 

Ned turned around look down on her with a look of disapproval.

 

"What are you doing? You want your father to hate me?" Ned asked, trying not to look down her naked body, keeping his eyes fixed on hers.

 

"Don't give me that look Ned, I know you want to," she said, looking down on his hard cock with a smirk. "Besides, I'm not completely crazy, daddy and Brynden had to go to work, and nobody will find out."

 

Ned had no reply, only groaned as her delicate fingers locked around his cock, stroking it.

 

"Cat," Ned growled, pulling her closer, pressing his mouth to hers.

 

Shower sex was never a good idea, with the slippery bottom and unreliable water supply. It was a recipe for disaster, yet that did not stop him from pressing her back against one of the walls. Lifting her feet so they could lock around his waist.

 

Catelyn's fingers combed through his wet hair, digging into his scalp, drawing a growl from him. Ned pressed her harder against the wall, enjoying the throaty moan she gave when he pressed himself tighter against her, his cock pressed against her heat.

 

"Cat?" A voice muddled through the sound of the water. "CAT! Are you in there?"

 

Catelyn quickly unwound her legs from his hips and pushed him back.

 

"What is it?" she called back.

 

"Can I borrow your straightening iron?" The voice, Ned now recognized belonged to Catelyn's sister, called.

 

"Sure," Catelyn called back. "It's in the top drawer of my dresser."

 

"Thanks," Lysa Tully called back.

 

Ned turned his head away from her, thinking of all the things that might get to him to calm down, his parents, Old Nan, writing term pap... No, thinking about term papers was no going to help since last term when Catelyn thought he might relax if she gave him a blowjob while he was trying to write. It was quite successful in helping him relax, however, it also cost him an hour of writing since he never left her hanging.

 

Yeah, thinking of term papers would not help.

 

"Hey," she said, pulling his face back towards her. Pressing a faint kiss to his lips.

 

"Hey," Ned replied dully, trying his hardest not to let his eyes wander from her laughing blue eyes. "I have to go."

 

He did not even wait for her to reply, instead he stumbled out of the shower stall, grabbing his towel and barely drying off before leaving her alone in the bathroom.

 

When she came to have breakfast with him fifteen minutes later, she said nothing of his sudden retreat, only sat down next to him, eating her breakfast, making small talk. After their food was gone she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

 

"You all right?" she asked lovingly, linking her fingers with his. "You ran away so quickly, did I do something wrong?"

 

"Of course not," Ned said calmly, stroking a hand softly down her hair. "I'm sorry if I alarmed you."

 

"Why did you leave?" She asked cautiously, as if he would run off again because of her questions.

 

"I want your father to like me," Ned started. "And I can understand where he is coming from."

 

Catelyn raised her brow at this, smiling behind her hand, although she tried to conceal it.

 

"You know what I mean," Ned groaned. "One day we might have a daughter, and I wouldn't want some guy staying in her room, no matter how old she was. Specially someone I didn’t know."

 

Catelyn smiled at him now, removing her hand from her mouth to grab his.

 

"I'm sorry," Catelyn said, although Ned did not feel she was being sincere, especially with that grin on her lips. "I'll try to behave."

 

"That will be the day," Ned muttered, stuffing his mouth with his cereal.

 

"I heard that," she said as she stood up, leaning back towards him to kiss his cheek.

 

True to her words, Catelyn did not try to sneak again into his shower or the room he slept in. Although, she had gotten pretty frisky when they cuddled together on the sofa, while watching a movie with her brother, which had made him weary of lying down anywhere with her.

 

On New Years Eve there was a huge party in the Tully home, at least five hundred people were gathered to celebrate, most of them people Ned had never even heard of, much less knew.

 

Catelyn wore this beautiful blue dress that matched very well with her hair and had an open back, which he discovered when he had laid a hand on the small of her back only to feel her skin at the top. Thankfully, most it was covered by her hair, which she had left down, much to his pleasure as he twirled a strand of it on his finger as they listened to some business associate of her father drone on and on about the importance of the Reach in Westeros.

 

Finally they were released from speaking with him, and for the first time all evening were left to their own devises.

 

"I had forgotten how long winded Mace Tyrell can get," Catelyn giggled, pulling his hand so that they could get another drink.

 

"He certainly loves the Reach," Ned commented dryly, busy watching Catelyn's sister exchanging words with Baelish.

 

Over the last couple of days, it had become increasingly more obvious that Baelish was obsessed with Catelyn and seemed to care not at all for the younger Tully sister, except for using to further his own agenda, what ever they might be.

 

"What's wrong?" She asked, picking up on how distracted he was.

 

"Something's going on with your sister and Baelish," Ned said, watching the scene unfold in the back of the room.

 

"What? Where?" She asked, trying to match her line of sight with his.

 

Just as he was about to point them out to her, Lysa Tully went running out of the room, her hand covering her face made it fairly obvious she was crying.

 

"Your sister just left, probably upset. Maybe you should go talk to her," Ned suggested.

 

"Are you sure? Are you going to be okay alone with all these people," she asked, raising a brow at him, trying to conceal a smile.

 

"Just go," he growled, watching her walk out of the hall, the same way her sister had gone.

 

The night slid by slowly and more than an hour had passed and no sign of Catelyn anywhere. So in the mean time Ned was forced to make small talk with several of her father's associates and friends, some of that either knew or had at least heard of his father.

 

It was almost midnight and Ned was starting to worry, so he went searching, after finally getting away from some old man with the foulest manners and a hundred children, it seemed.

 

He was not yet very familiar with the Tully home, and although it wasn't quite as big as his family's estate, it had quite a few corridors and rooms that were rarely used by the family, at least since Mrs Tully passed away.

 

Ned passed by what he remembered Catelyn telling him was the old dining hall, and he decided to take a peak inside when he heard noises coming from within.

 

What he saw set his blood on fire and before he could decided what to do he has already taken action, and his hand grabbed around Baelish's collar and he yanked him hard back away from Catelyn throwing him onto the floor like a rag doll.

 

"Are you alright?" He asked her, grabbing her face between his hands, making her look at him.

 

"I don't know," she whispered, clearly shaken up.

 

Ned didn’t even notice Baelish’s escape, he was so completely focused on Catelyn. He only saw Catelyn, the bruises that monster had left around her delicate wrists, the tears running down her face, and the smudged lipstick on her lips.

 

"Come on," he said, trying to get her to move, but she seemed to be in shock so he swung her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest as he took her to her room.

 

When he laid her down on her bed, she had stopped crying and instead of sadness there was anger in her red eyes.

 

"Are you alright?" Ned asked again, afraid to even touch her, in case she was not receptive.

 

"No," she answered. "I don't know."

 

Ned wondered what she wanted, did she want him to go and rough Baelish up? Did she want him to hold her, or the Gods forbid, go away.

 

Robert and his brother would have both beaten Baelish to a pulp for laying a hand on their girlfriends, and yet Ned had done nothing safe pushing him away.

 

"Do you want me to find him?" Ned asked.

 

"What?" She said, looking up at him with murky blue eyes. "Find who?"

 

"Baelish," Ned growled in an angrier voice than he had intended.

 

"Why? He's probably hiding away in case I tell my uncle," she said. "I need you to hold me." She whispered then, and Ned didn't need to be asked twice before he had her wrapped in his arms, stroking a hand through her hair as her head lay on his chest.

 

"I want you to promise you won't go looking for him," she asked after a while.

 

"I..." Ned hesitated, unsure of what she truly wanted to hear.

 

"Please Ned, I just want to forget," she said, pulling away so that she could look him in the eyes. "Nothing happened, Ned. He frightened me a little when he gripped me, but other than the unpleasant kiss, nothing happened. I just want to forget."

 

As if to prove her point she leaned forward and kissed him sweetly.

 

"Then we'll forget," he promised, kissing her again.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

They weren't inside the door before she had her arms wrapped around his neck, her cold lips pressed against his.

 

"Gods I'm so happy to be home," she said, after pulling back, throwing her coat and scarf on a chair, kicking her shoes off as well.

 

Ned was still trying to push past all the bags and shrug of his coat when she was already lying leisurely on the couch, nodding at him to follow.

 

After pulling off his shoes, he followed, but before he sat down next to her he remembered the other gift he got for her, the gift he had gotten her for Christmas, but with his proposal and the mess at the New Years Eve party he had totally forgot about it.

 

"Wait," he said when her hand reached up for him. "I forgot to give you your present, it's in my bag."

 

Before he could take one step, her hand grabbed at his waist.

 

"If this present is not your cock wrapped with a bright red bow, then I'm not interested," she growled, her blue eyes dark with desire.

 

Ned didn't need to think twice before pulling her up off the couch, her legs wrap around his waist and he dropped onto the couch with her on his lap, enjoying the feeling of her hips pressed against his.

 

"Gods, let’s never leave again," she moaned as she pulled his shirt and sweater over his head, pressing kisses to his bare chest.

 

"Agreed," he moaned as he tried to get the sipper of her dress down.

 

He was not doing a good job of getting her undressed and she had his pants opened and her fingers around his cock, pumping it in firm and quick strokes, before he had even gotten her out of her dress.

 

"Please, Ned," she pleaded, kissing him on the mouth. "I need you."

 

Ned reached under her dress, and found nothing save her skin.

 

"Now, Ned," she ordered as he moved his fingers over her.

 

"Gods," he groaned, pulling her forward so their hips almost collided, her hand the only thing hindering it.

 

She positioned him and then without any hesitation lowered herself over him until he was completely inside her. Her tight muscles gripped him firmly and he cursed the Gods out loud, holding her steady with his hands.

 

When they finished they stayed on the couch, breathing heavily, simply to exhausted to move.

 

"Gods! Let's never do that again?" Catelyn moaned. Her arm thrown over her eyes and her legs lay over his.

"Why?" Ned asked in a haze, opening his eyes to look at her. "Did I hurt you?" He asked in a panic.

 

"No Eddard," she said, emphasizing his name. "Not the sex, the traveling during the holidays to see our families."

 

"Oh, that," he said, closing his eyes again, enjoying the quietness of their apartment.

 

"Yeah, next year let's just stay in, or go somewhere," she suggested. "I'll even let you take me skiing."

 

Ned grunted his acceptance, just happy to be home, where it was quiet and he could have Catelyn all to himself.

 

"You still haven't told your father," Ned remembered.

 

"I know, but I couldn't after all that happened. Maybe when Lysa tells him he's going to be a grandfather I'll cheer him up with some news," she said, sitting up, her hands cupping his face and turning it towards her. Just as he opened his eyes, her lips pressed against his. "You know I love you right? And none of this means I don't want to marry you."

 

"I know," he answered honestly, kissing her again. "I'm just worried about you."

 

"I'm fine. I don't think I believe it quite yet. Lysa and Petyr are having a baby. Gods what a disaster. I just hope my father doesn't overreact, because that will just push her further into Petyr's arms, and he does not have her best interest at heart." Catelyn shook her head as if to get rid of her thoughts, before lying back down. Ned couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the boy, because when he and Catelyn woke on New Years morning he was gone and Lysa Tully ha been crying her eyes out, blaming the boy’s disappearance on Catelyn.

 

"No more family holidays than?" Ned asked, smiling at her.

 

"If we could get away with it, then I would never leave this apartment again," she answered, her hand reaching over to stroke his thigh. "But I don't think that's going to happen, and worse than us seeing them, would be if they all came here."

 

"Gods forbid," Ned groaned. He loved his family dearly, but this was their place and he wanted to keep it that way, at least for now. "Don't worry love, next year I'll take you somewhere nice, some place with a beach."

 

Of course Ned had no idea that things would not go as planned and next Christmas he'd be changing diapers and burping his three month old son, instead of enjoying cocktails at an overheated beach with the love of his life.

 

The End.

**Author's Note:**

>  **A/N:** The second part of this fic was supposed to be for the New Year promt and I hope I’ll be able to finish it by tonight, else it will be postef on my tumblr and ao3 tomorrow.


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